Concrete @ your Fingertips

Pumps are a convenient way of moving concrete both vertically and horizontally around the site, from the point of discharge of the ready mixed concrete truck to the point at which is required to be placed. Mobile pumps are truck-mounted and have flexible booms that allow access to a wide area and can reach to a significant height.

They may be hired for short spells on smaller jobs where only the occasional pour is required. They are in common use on many sites, especially in crowded city areas.

Fixed pumps are more suitable for large projects. They are connected to fixed pipelines that are connected to satellite booms for ease of placing.

Most static pumps can move material at least 60 m vertically or 300 m horizontally, though greater distances have been achieved with more powerful pumps. The rate of flow depends on many factors, including the concrete mix, the type of pump, the distance moved and the number of bends in the pipeline. Typically a pump will place in the region of 30 m3 per hour.

Good Practice Guide - Safe Use of Concrete Pumps (2013) can be downloaded free of charge from the CPA website at

www.cpa.uk.net. Also see BS 8476:2007 Code of practice for the safe use of concrete pumps.